Grant Hill

Picture this: If the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament began today, Virginia would play defending national champion Duke in the first round. As a fourth seed vs. No. 5. It's been that kind of year in the ACC. The seventh-ranked Blue Devils (19-4 overall, 7-4 in the ACC) have lost twice as many games as they did during all of last season. The No. 23 Cavaliers (15-5, 7-4) have had an up-and-down year, their high being a 77-69 victory last month that ended the Blue Devils' 36-game winning streak in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Blasphemy alert. The U.S. Olympic men's basketball team blasting through the competition in Beijing compares favorably to the first two "Dream Teams" of the 1990s. Granted, you might want this bunch to win the gold medal before mentioning them in the same breath as two of the best teams ever assembled. The top spot on the medal platform, however, is a fait accompli. Kobe, LeBron and Co., are by far the class of the field. The only way they don't win gold is if Chinese authorities detain them as Tibetan sympathizers.

DUKE AT VIRGINIA WHEN: 12:30 p.m. WHERE: University Hall, Charlottesville. RECORDS: Duke 10-2, 0-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference; Virginia 8-2, 0-0. ANALYSIS: It's the ACC opener for both the eighth-ranked Blue Devils and 18th-ranked Cavaliers. Duke has won five consecutive games. Coach Mike Krzyzewski is rotating nine players, led by Christian Laettner, who averages 20.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. The biggest improvement in Duke this season is quickness, with players such as Thomas Hill, Grant Hill, Brian Davis and Tony Lang.

The Pilots' Nick Erdman is no stranger to injuries, which ironically have put him in line to set several team records. After two productive seasons in the Coastal Plain League, Nick Erdman figured he might be successful if he got to swing a wood bat again in the future ... as a pro. Three inches of damaged tissue in his left ankle have altered his hope. He is back for a third season with the Peninsula Pilots, thanks to an ankle injury that made him redshirt his senior season of baseball at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania.

Grant Hill never rested, playing the entire 40 minutes. He scored 25 points and grabbed six rebounds. He blocked two shots and tipped away passes at critical times. He smothered the opponent's best player with defense. "Typical Grant," Duke freshman Jeff Capel said after Hill led the Blue Devils to a 70-65 Final Four semifinal victory against Florida on Saturday. "That's why I feel he's the best player in the country. He does everything. He scores, passes, defends, and he's done it all year."

This document did not come over on computer transfer. Please see microfilm for the entire article. Following are the first three paragraphs: No one, not even the still-haunted vanquished, denies the game's greatness. Duke-Kentucky '92 was as close as sports gets to epic poetry. But this is 1998. Tonight NCAA's South Regional final between the Blue Devils and Wildcats, the programs' first encounter since that unforgettable night in Philly, will be decided by Elton Brand and Trajan Langdon, Jeff Sheppard and Nazr Mohammed.

As the alma mater of Grant Hill, former Duke standout and current Orlando Magic player, South Lakes High School always has been known for its basketball program. But the Seahawks play more than hoops, and with a 9-3 record in football this season, they hope to change the school's reputation when they meet Phoebus in Saturday's Division 5 state semifinal. "We haven't had strong football here," said Pat Henthorn, the school's athletic director, "but I hate to say when people ask if we're a football or basketball school, that we're a basketball school.

Preseason basketball etiquette in the ACC requires each head coach to tout the conference's balance and to preach that all-too-familiar on-any-given-night sermonette. Back in October, Wake Forest's Dave Odom ignored the coaches' code and adamantly pronounced Duke and North Carolina the ACC's class. Saturday afternoon at Charlotte Coliseum, the Blue Devils and Tar Heels confirmed Odom's analysis with victories in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. Duke had its late-season, Final Four look in a 93-72 pounding of North Carolina State.

Grant Hill couldn't help himself. The dunk was acrobatic, intimidating and downright energizing. Hill did what any red-blooded basketball fan would do. He high-fived the guy next to him, Duke teammate Cherokee Parks. The source of this energy? It wasn't Hill or any other Duke player. Hill was a spectator. The man on stage was Purdue's Glenn Robinson. The play transpired Thursday night in the NCAA Tournament's Southeast Regional semifinals. Hill and Duke already had defeated Marquette and were eyeballing their next opponent, either Purdue or Kansas.

The Duke-North Carolina basketball rivalry carries a ton of emotional baggage. Respect, envy and anger are prominent. So is hate. Three times this season, the players from both teams have used that passion to produce riveting games. They have inspired the best in one another. Unfortunately for North Carolina, Duke's best is too good. Certainly too good for the Tar Heels. Probably too good for any college team. The Blue Devils proved at least one of those assertions Sunday at Charlotte Coliseum by dismantling the Tar Heels 94-74 in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship game.

So, the coach asked the reporter over breakfast Sunday, who's the better story? Illinois or North Carolina? Now there's a twist. As if comparing the personnel of college basketball's premier teams wasn't difficult enough. Now we're going to judge them like movie scripts? Rate the appeal of their trials and tribulations as they brace for tonight's national championship game? Hey, why not? North Carolina is, literally and figuratively, the blueblood. This is the Tar Heels' 16th Final Four, a record, and their eighth national title game.

When the NBA season began, it was all about Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, a team that didn't win the championship (the Los Angeles Lakers) and a coach no longer in the league (Phil Jackson). Ron Artest is now the name on everyone's mind, but all of that has obscured what is for now one of the best stories in sports. Grant Hill appears to be back in form. Hill scored 29 points in Orlando's win over Philadelphia on Saturday. Due to an injury to a bone in his ankle, he has played in just 59 games (including 12 this season)

Grant Hill did something unusual recently. He took a stand. It had nothing to do with his four ankle surgeries, although Hill joked about them as he did the unusual. He spoke at a political rally for Presidential Candidate X. If you knew, it might ruin any chance you'd read this with an open mind. The point isn't that Hill is endorsing George W. Bush or John Kerry. It was that he is endorsing anybody. The reasons are pretty simple. "Let's see, Grant is 32. He's married.

The never-ending coronation of LeBron James continues Thursday night when the Cleveland Cavaliers select His Majesty with the first pick of the NBA draft. Whatever. LeBron overdose notwithstanding, there are intriguing storylines surrounding the draft and the league: The Duke curse; the ACC Rookie of the Year; the international invasion. Let's start with Duke, where Mike Krzyzewski's dynasty has not translated to the NBA. Grant Hill is the only one of Krzyzewski's former players to make annual All-Star Game appearances, and just this month San Antonio Spurs reserve Danny Ferry became the first Krzyzewski alum to earn an NBA championship ring.

The long-awaited outcome was probably as obvious as the resignation on his face and the walking boot on his left ankle. But on Friday morning, while steadying himself on his crutches and with only teammate Tracy McGrady within earshot, Grant Hill finally made official what everyone had long suspected: His 2002-2003 season is over, but his career is not. "I feel confident in the direction I'm going, but it's safe to say I'm out for...

Grant Hill, who has been in and out of the Orlando Magic lineup for two months because of recurring soreness in his troublesome left ankle, will be out indefinitely, at least a month and perhaps for the rest of the season. For the third time in his time with the Magic, Hill will be placed on the injured list. "We're going to put him on the list and we're going to keep him there until we can get him healthy," said coach Doc Rivers. "If that's a month, if that's a week, if that's three months, that's what we're going to do."

Instead of heading into the land of elbows and shoves, Duke center Cherokee Parks turned right and went to the wing. Grant Hill bounced a pass to him. Parks faked left and whirled back right with a jump shot. Swish. Virginia's Junior Burrough, who was guarding Parks, shrugged and smiled. And his coach, Jeff Jones, shook his head. The one thing Virginia feared most Saturday had happened. The Cavaliers could gut it out with the Blue Devils in every area save one: They couldn't handle the 6-foot-11 Parks when he strayed from the basket.

Duke center Christian Laettner was named the Most Valuable Player of last year's Final Four as the Blue Devils won the national championship. His boyish mug has graced the cover of countless magazines. But make no mistake, the best player in the 1991 NCAA Tournament was Bobby Hurley, Duke's runt of a point guard. In six tournament games, he averaged 12.2 points, passed for 43 assists and committed only 10 turnovers. That little history lesson came to mind Wednesday, when the Blue Devils' chances of repeating as champions appeared angel-hair thin.

The voice on the other end did not sound hopeful. Grant Hill was convinced that Tracy McGrady would not play. Hill had called McGrady at 9 on Tuesday night to check on him. "Man, I don't think I can go (today)," McGrady told him. Nineteen hours later, McGrady had his index finger in the air and a 104-99 victory in his grasp. McGrady was at his best Wednesday, even as he winced. He scored 46 points, even after missing three of the past four games with a bruised lower back.

As the alma mater of Grant Hill, former Duke standout and current Orlando Magic player, South Lakes High School always has been known for its basketball program. But the Seahawks play more than hoops, and with a 9-3 record in football this season, they hope to change the school's reputation when they meet Phoebus in Saturday's Division 5 state semifinal. "We haven't had strong football here," said Pat Henthorn, the school's athletic director, "but I hate to say when people ask if we're a football or basketball school, that we're a basketball school.